Eddie sat in the common room with a smile, a sad one as he remembered a certain American he was chosen to protect. She had called him a little while ago from her plane to the US and made sure everything was okay with him. It was Summer vacation, and the house was empty except for him. Even Jerry had gotten to go home with his family. But he missed Nina the most. They had grown close in recent months. Ever since the first day of school, they had liked each other. But over an uneventful Spring and Easter break, they had bonded, not as most would see; as friends, but as something more, something better. He still remembered most of his first day of school with her, when she had shown him around…
They were walking down the corridor, Nina was showing him the different cliques, seeing as no one really understood them as well as she did; being from a lot of cliques in a lot of different schools. He had just got his locker combination and number from the office and was relying on his fellow American to show him around. Boys were smiling at her, winking left and right with a grin as she waved slightly, ignoring them otherwise. "And my fellow American then we have; the Players. You'll fit in with them just fine. That guy over there, he's a Player; player, player, player, player, player…" "The nerd is a player?" He had asked. She had nodded her head answering quietly so he wouldn't hear as they passed; "He's the player of the nerds; occasionally, he dates a normal person."
She had helped him find his locker after that and then he was on his own. But it just reminded him more of the silence in the house now that she and the others had left for vacation. He loved her humour, though few saw it, or the real her; the real Nina. He was glad though, that he'd been allowed to see the real her. And in turn, he'd allowed her to see the real him; the Good Guy, the one who cared, who loved, who broke, the one who was hidden inside his own walls for protection. But Nina had dug him out; made him strive to be better; to be nicer.
It's why, even though their relationship was a little dysfunctional, he made a better effort with Patricia. But the real Nina wasn't the goody two shoes; she was the Badass, the prankster, the Sarcasm Queen and ruler of the bitch slap-down. And Eddie loved her. He loved every inch of her and every little thing about her. From her weird taste in clothes and books, to her pop rock music. He loved how her nose twitched before she sneezed, how she always had to double knot her laces and then tuck them into her shoes to make sure she didn't trip. He loved her voice, how she sounded like bells when she laughed even though she hated the sound of it. He loved her sarcasm and quick wit, how she could stump him with random questions or bursts of snark. But most of all he loved her, her loyalty; everything. There wasn't one thing he loved about her more than anything else. But he did love the little things.